Tidal elevator.



PATENTED JUNE 23, 1903.

C. D. OLEARY.

TIDAL ELEVATOR.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 7. 1903.

NO MODEL.

u m N6 3 N0 D Q m l\ C UNITED STATES Patented June 23, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

TIDAL ELEVATOR.

. SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 731,491, dated June 23, 1903.

Application filed February 7, 1903. Serial No. 142,389. (N m l-l T0 rtZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CLEMENT D. OLEARY, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city and county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented a certain new and usefullmprovement in Tidal Elevators, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a tidal elevator, and is shown in the accompanying drawing in 50 side elevation.

My invention consists of the novel construction and combination of the several parts, as hereinafter particularly described, and specifically set forth in the claims.

In the drawing, A is a standard, the bottom of which is sunk or otherwise supported upon the bottom of tide-flowed lands. A lever-arm B is pivotally mounted at 0 upon a pin or bolt.

D is a dam or bulkhead of a water-reservoir, built upon the tide-flowed land and separating the natural tide-water from the stored tidewater. This dam D has a hook E upon the I top thereof in an overhanging position, as shown. a

At the end of the short arm of the lever B is an eye F, to which the upper end of a chain G is attached. At the lower end of the chain G is secured a buoy or float H, which is par- 0 tially submerged in the tide-water I, as shown.

J is a bucket having in its bottom a flapvalve K to cover an opening L. To the ears M of this bucket a bifurcated yoke N is pivotally connected at O. The yoke N has the central bar P, whose upper end is pivoted by a pin or bolt Q to the end 'of the long arm of the lever B. A hook R upon the side of the bucket engages with the hook E of the dam D when the bucket J rises into the position 0 illustrated in solid lines in the drawing.

The operation of the device is as follows: When the sea-water I isat low tide, as repre sented in the drawing by solid lines, the buoy H is in the position shown in solid lines; but 5 as the tide rises the buoy H rises with it, and

consequently the long arm of the lever B descends, so that the bucket J 'issubmerged and the sea-water flows through the opening L, ,raising the flap-valve K and filling the bucket. The dotted line S represents the line of high tide. The buoyHis made ofsuchaweight that as the tide ebbs out and the water level athigh tide.

lowers the buoy H in going down with the tide is able to raise the long arm of the lever B and the filled bucket S attached thereto. When the bucket-hook R comes into engagement with the hookE of the dam D, the continued upward movement of the long arm of the lever B, resulting from the continued rise of the inflowing tide, causes the bucket J to tip, as illustrated in the drawing, and thus empties the water T which it contains into the water U within the reservoir. observed that the level of the water in the reservoir is higher than the level S of the high tide, and thus I secure a head of water in the reservoir, which is useful for purposes be used instead of that which I have shown and specified but such devices would be within the scope of this invention.

The principle involved in this invention is that the arm of the lever which supports the bucket is longer than that arm of the .lever which is connected with the buoy. Consequently the bucket travels a longer vertical distance than the buoy does. For that reason it is possible to fill the reservoir to a water-line higher'than the level of the sea-water The longer the bucket-arm of the lever is in comparison with the length of the buoy-arm of the lever the higher will the bucket ascend and the higher will be the water-level in the reservoir.

I claim as a novel and useful invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. In a tidal elevator, the combination of a standard, a lever pivotally supported on said standard, a buoy connected with the short arm of said lever, and a bucket connected with the long arm of said lever, substantially as shown. i

2; In a tidal elevator, the combination of a standard, a lever pivotally supported on said standard, a buoy, a chain connecting said buoy with the short arm of said lever, a bucket having an aperture in its bottom and It will be a valve covering the same, and a bail or yoke pivotally mounted at the end of the long arm of said lever, substantially as set forth.

3. In combination with a reservoir having a hook on the dam thereof, a standard erected on tide-flowed land, a lever pivotally supported on the standard, a buoy floating in tide-water, a chain connecting the buoy with the short arm of said lever, a bucket having an aperture and a valve covering the same and also provided with a hook engageable with the first-mentioned hook, and a bail or yoke pivotally mounted on said bucket and pivotally mounted at the end of the long arm of said lever, combined and operating substantially as described.

4. In combination with a reservoir, a stand- 'ard, a lever pivotally mounted on said stand- 

